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To  Mi. 

Complimei 


MY  TRAVELS 
A  FAMILY  STORY 


EDWARD   F.   HACKETT 


MY    TRAVELS 

A  FAMILY  STORY 

By 

MARIA  HACKETT 

Edited  by  Her  Son 

ALBANY 

1912 

Copyright,  1912 
Edward  F.  Hackett 


H3 


INTRODUCTORY 
A  Family  Story 

This  is  not  a  family  history.  Family 
histories  are  invariably  dull  and  of  interest 
only  to  a  few  who  have  a  belief  in,  and  are 
proud  of,  their  pedigree.  It  is  the  story 
of  the  mother  of  a  family  who  led  a  very 
eventful  life  and  traveled  many  thousand 
miles,  at  a  time  when  to  meet  with  a  trav- 
eled person  was  exceedingly  rare. 

My  mother's  travels  began  in  1828  and 
lasted  till  1854.  The  first  trip  was  her 
wedding  journey,  18,000  miles  on  a  sailing 
ship.  Shortly  after  her  marriage  her  hus- 
band gave  up  his  business  in  Ireland  and 
thought  that  Van  Diemen's  Land  would 
be  a  fine  place  for  a  young  man  with  capi- 
tal. He  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in 
prevailing  on  his  bride  to  take  the  trip. 
Indeed,  as  she  often  told  me,  she  would 
have  gone  to  any  part  of  the  world  with 
him,  so  much  in  love  was  she;  and  really 
I  am  not  quite  sure  that  she  knew  where 
Australia  was,  or  cared,  for  that  matter. 

[v] 


KhflA  i  c;Aft 


MY  TRAVELS 


Her  whole  married  life  was  a  honeymoon. 
She  survived  her  husband  many  years;  he 
died  in  1847  and  she  mourned  him  and 
spoke  lovingly  of  him  until  she  passed 
away  in  1887. 

Her  travels  had  always  been  a  source  of 
intense  joy  to  her  many  children.  She 
liked  to  be  drawn  out  and  at  the  slightest 
suggestion  would  drop  into  a  reminiscent 
mood.  Particularly  were  we  delighted  with 
the  ''Pirate  Story,"  which  the  gentle 
reader  will  find  duly  set  forth.  And  then 
the  description  of  the  crossing  the  line,  at 
which  time  all  discipline  on  board  ship 
was  relaxed  and  the  ruffianly  crew  had  it 
all  to  themselves.  How  we  did  enjoy  these 
stories.  Then  one  day  some  one  suggested 
that  if  she  would  write  them  out  and  have 
them  printed,  others  than  the  family  would 
be  interested,  and  the  Sunday  Press  of 
Albany,  of  which  the  late  John  Henry 
Farrell,  the  late  Myron  H.  Rooker  and  the 
late  James  MacFarlan  were  the  proprie- 
tors, gladly  accepted  the  articles  as  they 
appeared  and  printed  them  in  the  paper. 
The  story  was  well  received  at  that  time, 

[vi] 


A  FAMILY  STORY 


the  early  seventies,  and  the  articles  were 
collected  and  printed  in  a  cheap  form.  A 
desire  to  have  them  appear  in  a  form  more 
suited  to  their  interest  is  the  reason  for 
this  edition. 

Edwd.  F.  Hackett. 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  August  26,  1912. 


[vii] 


SKETCHES   OF   TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  I 

Traveling  Nearly  Half  a  Century 
Ago  —  Recollections  of  Scenes  and 
Places  —  Slavery  in  Brazil  —  An 
Encounter  with  Pirates. 

It  has  been  my  lot,  during  a  life  of  sixty- 
eight  years,  to  have  met  with  some  start- 
ling adventures,  visited  many  places,  and 
traveled  around  the  world,  at  a  time  when 
traveling,  with  the  best  accommodations, 
meant  hardship;  when  steamboats  were 
unknown,  and  life  on  shipboard  a  dreary 
imprisonment.  Many  persons  may  have 
traveled  more  than  I,  many  may  have  met 
with  more  adventures,  and  be  better  quali- 
fied to  give  entertaining  descriptions  of 
their  experiences,  but  few  (and  especially 
ladies)  can  have  had  such  varying  for- 
tunes— such  happiness,   and  trouble,   and 

[1] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

care — as  I  have  met  with.  I  trust  that  my 
readers  will  be  interested  in  the  following 
recital,  and  that  they  will  make  due  allow- 
ances for  the  rambling  character  of  the 
sketches. 

On  the  30th  day  of  April,  1828,  imme- 
diately after  my  marriage,  I  sailed  from 
Cork,  Ireland,  with  my  husband,  on  board 
the  good  ship  Coronet,  Captain  Daniels, 
bound  for  Hobart  Town,  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  a  pleasant  little  bridal  tour  of  18,000 
miles. 

We  had  some  thirty-four  cabin  passen- 
gers, made  up  of  the  usual  number  of 
good-  and  ill-natured  people,  all  of  whom 
were  assessed  the  large  price  of  $400  the 
trip,  with  the  privilege  of  furnishing  or 
paying  for  one's  provisions.  To  select 
provisions  for  a  six  months'  voyage  was  a 
task  which  housekeepers  can  readily  imag- 
ine, and  was  a  serious  drain  on  one 's  purse. 

There  was  the  usual  amount  of  seasick- 
ness for  the  first  few  days,  although  the 
weather  was  very  fine,  and  in  eight  days 
we  arrived  at  the  Canary  Islands,  shortly 
after  we  sighted  the  peak  of  Teneriffe,  and 

[2] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

on  the  10th  of  May  we  landed  at  Funehal, 
the  capital  of  Madeira. 

On  account  of  the  great  surf,  the  pas- 
sengers had  to  be  taken  on  shore  on  the 
backs  of  the  sailors,  and  the  ladies  being 
treated  precisely  the  same  way,  the  landing 
was  anything  but  dignified. 

We  were  surprised  to  see  so  many  Eng- 
lish people  in  bad  health,  many  of  them 
being  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption,  but 
on  account  of  the  mildness  of  the  climate 
it  had  long  been  the  resort  of  those  who, 
from  lung  diseases,  were  obliged  to  leave 
their  native  land. 

My  husband,  fortunately,  understood  the 
language,  and  we  added  a  large  quantity 
of  wines  and  fruits  to  our  stock  on  board 
ship.  The  best  quality  of  Madeira  wine 
was  then  fourteen  cents  per  bottle.  Bur- 
gundy, five  cents  a  bottle,  and  fruit  very 
cheap.  Vehicles  called  ^^palanquines," 
some  carried  by  men  and  some  drawn 
by  oxen,  were  the  common  mode  of 
conveyance. 

We  soon  set  sail  for  Ascension,  a  wild, 
rocky,  miserable  place  in  the  middle  of  the 

[3] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAYEL 

ocean.  It  is  an  English  settlement,  and 
all  ships  stop  there  for  water.  We  availed 
ourselves  of  the  opportunity  to  add  turtles 
to  our  stock  of  provisions,  and  for  many- 
days  our  first  course  was  turtle  soup.  On 
leaving  Ascension  we  passed  through  shoals 
of  fish  so  thick  as  to  somewhat  retard  the 
speed  of  the  vessel,  and  also  encountered 
large  numbers  of  flying  fish. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  we  landed  at  Eio 
de  Janeiro,  Brazil,  one  of  the  finest  harbors 
in  the  world.  There  were  at  that  time 
twenty-four  line-of-battle  ships,  twelve 
French  and  twelve  English,  all  at  anchor, 
besides  many  vessels  from  different  nations. 
It  was  really  a  splendid  sight.  While  pass- 
ing through  the  harbor  we  were  hailed  by 
the  captain  of  one  of  the  men-of-war,  who 
inquired,  through  a  speaking  trumpet,  if 
there  were  any  passengers  from  Cork  on 
board.  Our  captain  answered,  **Yes,"  say- 
ing that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hackett  and  the  Eev. 
William  H.  Brown,  a  Protestant  minister, 
were  among  the  number.  A  boat  was 
immediately  lowered,  and  Captain  Hayden 
came  on  board.    He  proved  to  be  a  particu- 

[4] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

lar  friend  of  mine,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for 
years,  and  invited  my  husband  and  me  to 
his  house  at  Bota  Foga,  where  he  treated 
us  with  the  greatest  kindness. 

Eio  is  not  a  particularly  desirable  place 
in  which  to  live;  it  is  intensely  hot;  very 
little  fresh  meat,  no  ice,  no  potatoes  or 
vegetables  except  yams,  something  like 
sweet  potatoes.  Pineapples  were  abundant, 
and  oranges,  luscious  and  large,  made  up  in 
a  way  for  the  scanty  supply  of  vegetables. 
We  tried  three  of  the  best  hotels,  and  at 
last  sat  down  to  a  regal  repast  of  dry 
bread  and  tea,  without  milk,  which  was  the 
best  fare  that  could  be  got.  Bananas, 
pomegranates  and  limes  were  very  plenti- 
ful. The  oranges  were  so  large  that  the 
juice  of  one  would  fill  an  ordinary  sized 
tumbler,  and  they  could  be  bought  for 
about  six  cents  a  dozen.  The  lemon  and 
orange  groves  were  beautiful,  and  we  fre- 
quently walked  through  them,  enjoying  the 
fragrance. 

The  most  revolting  sight  possible  to  con- 
ceive was  the  slave  market,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  the  negroes  was  positively  awful, 

[5] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

yoked  up  like  oxen,  and  a  driver  following 
with  a  cruel-looking  whip,  slashing  them 
at  every  step. 

No  one  has  ever  seen  in  the  United 
States  such  dreadful  horrors  as  was  the 
everyday  routine  of  Rio.  The  slave  ships 
were  packed  with  young  and  old  of  both 
sexes  in  a  nearly  nude  state,  and  once  a 
day  they  were  brought  on  deck,  standing 
so  close  together  they  could  scarcely  move, 
and  buckets  of  water  were  dashed  on  them 
to  keep  them  clean.  A  slave's  life  was  of 
no  more  value  than  a  dog's,  and  no  punish- 
ment was  inflicted  on  any  one  who  killed 
a  slave. 

Thank  fortune,  slavery  has  passed  away, 
and  no  more  shall  we  see  such  barbarity 
exercised  toward  our  fellow  men. 

The  meat  generally  used  in  Rio  was  sold 
by  the  yard,  and  was  called  carnesea,  or 
dried  beef.  It  was  cut  in  thongs,  and  was 
as  disagreeable  to  the  taste  as  to  the  eye. 
The  streets  were  very  narrow  and  the 
houses  very  high,  many  of  them  being  at 
least  seven  stories.  The  more  respectable 
the  inhabitants,  the  higher  up  they  lived, 

[6] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

and  some  of  them  must  have  been  very- 
high-toned  indeed.  We  passed  through  one 
street  devoted  entirely  to  jewelers'  shops, 
and  the  exhibition  of  silver,  gold  and  jewels 
was  marvelous.  Society  was  badly  demor- 
alized. No  lady  could  walk  the  streets 
unaccompanied  without  being  insulted,  and 
the  semi-nakedness  of  the  slaves  was  start- 
ling to  European  eyes.  During  our  stay  of 
two  weeks,  while  our  ship  was  being  over- 
hauled and  painted,  we  had  audiences  with 
Donna  Maria  de  Gloria,  Queen  of  Spain, 
and  also  the  Emperor  of  Brazil. 

"We  visited,  at  odd  times.  Captain  Hay- 
den's  home.  His  youngest  child,  then  a 
babe,  was  nursed  by  a  slave,  and  eight 
slaves  were  in  attendance  while  the  baby 
was  getting  its  usual  morning  bath.  I  saw 
that  baby  afterwards  in  Ireland,  a  full- 
grown  man.  His  sister  was  married  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington's  nephew. 

We  bade  adieu  to  our  friends  at  the  end 
of  two  weeks  and  started  again  on  our 
weary  way.  We  took  on  as  a  passenger  at 
Eio  a  mysterious  personage,  a  Jew,  who 
furnished  food  for  any  quantity  of  con- 

[7] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

jecture  and  gossip.  He  was  known  as  Mr. 
Slowman.  He  boasted  of  his  riches,  showed 
large  and  beautiful  jewels  to  the  admiring 
eyes  of  the  lady  passengers,  and  declared 
that  he  had  £4,000  in  sovereigns  in  his 
trunk.  He  was  placed  in  the  same  state- 
room with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  much  to 
the  disgust  of  the  latter,  who  complained 
bitterly  of  the  cries,  groans  and  curses  that 
emanated  from  the  stranger's  berth  every 
night.  We  all  strongly  suspected  that 
murder  or  some  other  terrible  sin  was  on 
his  conscience  from  the  way  he  acted  and 
his  ravings  during  his  broken  sleep. 

Before  leaving  Rio  we  heard  many  re- 
ports about  pirates  who  infested  the  equa- 
tor at  that  time,  and  who  perpetrated  the 
most  bloody  deeds.  It  was  but  a  month 
before  that  the  ship  Cumberland,  from 
Australia,  was  boarded  by  a  pirate,  the  ship 
scuttled,  and  every  soul  on  board  marched 
over  the  side  of  the  vessel  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  The  recital  of  this  horrible 
outrage  had  anything  but  a  quieting  effect 
on  US;  we  were  all  in  constant  terror  lest 
our  ship  should  meet  with  a  similar  fate, 

[8] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

and  our  horror  and  consternation  can  be 
imagined  when  one  day  the  man  on  the 
lookout  descried  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning  a  piratical-looking  craft  bearing 
down  on  us. 


[9] 


CHAPTER  II 

Overhauled  by  a  Pirate  —  What  He 
Did  —  Crossing  the  Line  —  Sailors^ 
Saturnalia — The  Eeign  of  Neptune — 
Mr.  Slowman  Gives  a  Dinner — He  Is 
Arrested  at  the  Table — Who  He  Was 
AND  Why  Arrested. 

Much  consternation  was  experienced 
among  the  passengers  while  the  piratical- 
looking  craft  described  in  my  last  letter 
was  drawing  near.  It  was  eight  o  'clock  in 
the  morning  when  we  first  sighted  her,  and 
a  few  hours  later  she  was  alongside.  Mean- 
while, the  captain  of  our  ship  had  not  lost 
his  presence  of  mind,  but  had  got  all  things 
in  readiness  to  fight  if  necessary.  All  the 
male  passengers  were  armed  in  the  best 
manner  that  the  ship  could  afford,  some 
with  horse  pistols,  some  with  guns,  and  the 
sailors  were  supplied  with  marlinspikes  and 
swords.  The  women  on  board  were  in  a 
terrible  state.  We  felt  that  our  last  hour 
had  come,  and  the  awful  fate  of  the  ship 

[10] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

Cumberland  only  a  month  before  was  felt 
as  a  forerunner  of  what  we  ourselves  would 
have  to  undergo.  We  bade  our  husbands  a 
tearful  farewell  and  spoke  our  last  words 
in  the  full  expectation  of  a  bloody  death. 
In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  Mr.  Slow- 
man  was  discovered  endeavoring  to  hide  his 
trunk  full  of  guineas  under  his  berth.  He 
was  crying  bitterly  at  his  fate,  at  times 
praying  and  at  times  cursing  his  luck.  It 
afforded  (even  in  all  our  fear)  some  amuse- 
ment and  we  could  not  help  laughing  at  the 
poor  wretch. 

The  pirate  was  now  close  alongside  and 
our  vessel  was  hailed  through  a  trumpet. 

**What  ship  is  that,  and  where  bound?'' 

^'The  ship  Coronet,  from  Cork,  bound 
for  Hobart  Town.'' 

Then  came,  *  ^  I  want  to  come  on  board, ' ' 
and  in  a  few  minutes  a  boat  was  lowered 
and  a  tall,  fine-looking  man  was  soon  on 
our  deck  talking  with  our  captain.  Our 
crew  had  been  dressed  in  soldiers'  coats  in 
hopes  that  the  pirate  would  fancy  we  were 
a  prison  ship,  and  so  give  us  a  wide  berth ; 
but  a  short  inspection  convinced  him  that 

[11] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

we  would  be  able  to  offer  only  a  feeble 
resistance.  You  can  imagine  with  what 
awe  we  looked  upon  the  bloodthirsty- 
wretch  who  was  talking  apparently  in  the 
most  amiable  manner.  We  could  see  the 
murderous  crew  swarming  on  the  sides  of 
his  ship  and  could  plainly  discern  a  long 
cannon  on  a  swivel  near  the  bow,  pointed 
ominously  toward  us.  Captain  Daniels 
answered  all  the  fellow's  questions  without 
exhibiting  any  fear,  pressed  him  to  stay  to 
dinner  and  made  him  a  present  of  a  barrel 
of  corned  beef  and  a  small  cask  of  whisky, 
which  he  promptly  accepted.  He  also,  in 
the  most  courteous  manner,  accepted  the 
invitation  to  dine,  saying  that  as  there  were 
so  many  ladies  on  board  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  him  to  return  to  his  ship  in  order 
to  dress  suitably.  He  thereupon,  with  many 
salutations  and  bows  to  the  captain  and  the 
ladies  (who  were  still  greatly  excited  with 
terror),  took  his  departure  with  his  six  men 
who  had  accompanied  him.  We  felt  then 
that  it  was  all  up  with  us,  and  that  having 
found  out  our  weakness,  he  would  make  an 
easy  capture.     And  now  I  am  about  to 

[12] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

relate  something  marvelous,  which  the 
scoffer  may  ridicule,  but  which  I  shall 
always  gratefully  feel  was  a  direct  inter- 
position of  Providence  to  save  us  from  a 
dreadful  fate.  No  sooner  had  the  pirate 
returned  to  his  vessel  than  a  dense  fog 
sprang  up  and  we  saw  him  no  more.  This 
may  to  some  of  my  readers  look  like  a 
simple  way  to  be  extricated  from  danger, 
but  I  most  solemnly  assure  you  that  we  all 
felt  that  it  was  a  providential  interposition 
in  our  behalf. 

[Here  I  must  say  that  no  matter  how 
many  times  we  had  heard  the  story  and 
no  matter  how  very  opportunely  this  fog 
had  sprung  up,  we  all  heaved  a  sigh  of 
relief  to  think  of  the  narrow  escape  our 
parents  had  from  sudden  and  ignominious 
death.  We  always  tried  to  get  further 
particulars  or  explanation  of  the  apparent 
miracle,  but  our  dear  mother  could  ascribe 
the  escape  only  to  an  interposition  of 
Divine  Providence,  in  which  she  thoroughly 
believed,  and  which  we  were  satisfied  to 
accept.] 

[13] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

Five  months  from  that  time  the  pirate 
was  captured  by  a  British  man-of-war,  and 
every  one  on  board  was  hanged  at  low- 
water  mark  in  Liverpool,  they  being  taken 
red-handed,  as  it  were,  with  heaps  of  plun- 
der in  their  possession  and  with  sufficient 
evidence  to  prove  that  they  were  the  scoun- 
drels that  destroyed  the  Cumberland,  a 
bucket  marked  '^Cumberland''  on  the 
bottom,  which  mark  they  had  not  effaced, 
helping  vastly  towards  conviction. 

And  now  comes  the  description  of  a 
scene  which  was,  at  that  time,  common; 
but  which  has  long  since  passed  away, 
together  with  many  other  customs  which 
were  barbarous  and  inhuman,  and  seem- 
ingly impossible  for  the  society  of  fifty 
years  ago.  I  refer  to  the  indignities  in- 
flicted on  all  voyagers  on  crossing  the 
equator  or,  as  it  was  called,  '*  crossing  the 
line."  Be  it  known,  that  fifty  years  ago 
the  sailors  of  a  ship  crossing  the  line  were 
relieved  from  all  duty  for  one  day,  they 
becoming  masters,  as  it  were,  and  looking 
on  the  passengers  as  so  much  food  for  the 
grossest  practical  jokes.    My  husband  had 

[14] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

made  up  his  mind  not  to  go  through  the 
ordeal,  and  had,  by  threats  and  a  generous 
distribution  of  money  to  the  crew,  suc- 
ceeded in  making  terms  with  them ;  that  is, 
he  was  to  have  only  a  partial  interview 
with  the  sea  god,  Neptune.  Our  friend, 
Mr.  Slowman,  was  early  pounced  upon  by 
the  sailors,  who  stripped  him  almost  naked. 
They  then  tossed  him  in  a  large  sail  filled 
with  dirty  bilge  water  until  the  poor  fellow 
was  half  dead.  He  was  then  treated  to  a 
coat  of  grease  and  tar,  and  a  burly  sailor 
dressed  as  Neptune  proceeded  to  shave 
him  with  a  rusty  iron  hoop.  The  pain 
inflicted  by  this  ceremony  must  have  been 
very  severe.  The  crew  by  this  time  were 
greatly  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and 
were  tossing  the  next  candidate  in  the  sail 
full  of  dirty  water.  The  next  ordeal  Mr. 
Slowman  was  subjected  to  was  called  the 
'^kiss  of  Neptune.''  The  sailor  who  took 
the  part  had  a  strip  of  leather  studded  with 
carpet  tacks  tied  over  his  face,  and  then 
he  embraced  the  unfortunate  man,  causing 
the  blood  to  run  in  streams  from  him.  He 
was  then   deluged  with  buckets  of  bilge 

[15] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

water  and  filth  and,  almost  fainting,  bleed- 
ing at  every  pore  and  half  suffocated,  was 
at  length  released  from  his  tormentors. 

Nearly  every  male  passenger  suffered 
this  indignity,  not  even  the  clergyman 
escaping,  though  he  received  his  punish- 
ment in  a  mitigated  form.  My  husband 
alone  stood  out  and  threatened  to  put  a 
bullet  into  the  first  one  that  touched  him, 
and  his  determination,  added  to  the  money 
he  had  paid,  saved  him  from  insult.  The 
lady  passengers  were  not  allowed  to  escape, 
each  one  being  subjected  to  a  deluge  of 
salt  water  thrown  on  them  by  the  crew,  and 
even  the  captain  had  to  take  his  share  of 
the  last  punishment.  Altogether  it  was  a 
most  unpleasant  experience,  and  many  of 
us  did  not  recover  from  its  effect  for  weeks. 
The  custom  has  long  since  been  discon- 
tinued, though  the  sailors  fought  stoutly 
for  this  one  day  of  license  and  outrage. 

After  crossing  the  equator  our  voyage 
became  exceedingly  monotonous  and  devoid 
of  interest.  The  heat  was  stifling  and  often 
for  days  we  floated  on  the  water  becalmed. 
It  was  with  feelings  of  the  greatest  joy  we 

[16] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

first  saw  land,  and  on  the  10th  day  of 
October,  1828,  we  sailed  up  the  Derwent 
Eiver  and  landed  at  Hobart  Town,  after 
having  spent  nearly  six  months  on  ship- 
board. 

Those  who  take  a  journey  in  our  fast 
sailing  steamers  of  the  present  day,  enjoy 
fully  the  first  sight  of  land  after  a  paltry 
trip  of  at  most  twelve  days,  and  they  can 
realize  in  a  measure  our  great  delight  in 
leaving  the  ship,  where  we  had  been  closely 
confined  with  none  of  the  comforts  of  the 
Cunarders  or  Inman  line. 

Mr.  Slowman,  our  attentive  friend,  was 
so  delighted  at  escaping  the  perils  of  the 
ocean,  that  he  invited  all  the  cabin  passen- 
gers to  a  wine  supper  at  the  best  hotel. 
The  invitation  was  unanimously  accepted 
and  we  sat  down,  a  joyous  party,  to  an  ele- 
gant repast.  In  the  midst  of  the  festivities, 
while  Mr.  Slowman  was  making  a  reply  to 
a  toast  in  his  honor,  there  came  marching 
into  the  room  two  detective  officers,  who 
arrested  him  in  the  middle  of  a  speech, 
clapped  handcuffs  upon  him  and  marched 

[17] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

him  off  without  even  giving  him  time  to 
settle  his  little  bill  for  champagne. 

In  confusion  the  party  broke  up  and  not 
till  the  next  day  did  we  find  out  the  cause 
of  our  mysterious  passenger's  sudden 
arrest.  He  was  the  famous  Ikey  Solomon, 
the  greatest  thief  and  receiver  of  stolen 
goods  in  London.  He  had  a  large  house 
in  London,  all  paneled,  and  between  the 
walls  and  panels  he  concealed  the  stolen 
property.  Several  men  had  been  hanged 
on  his  account  and  many  transported.  He 
had  escaped  from  the  police,  fled  to  Rio  and 
from  thence  to  Van  Diemen's  Land,  only 
to  be  arrested.  He  was  immediately  sent 
back,  tried  and  sentenced  for  life,  and  in 
due  time  returned  a  prisoner  again.  I 
afterwards  saw  him  in  chains.  The  man 
who  arrested  him  was  sent  out  by  the  gov- 
ernment for  that  purpose,  and  had  traveled 
30,000  miles  to  accomplish  the  job. 


[18] 


CHAPTER  III 

Settling  in  Van  Diemen^s  Land  —  De- 
scription, Peculiarities  and  "Wonders 
OF  THE  Country — Sir  John  Franklin, 
THE  Arctic  Explorer  —  Lady  Frank- 
lin, His  Wife. 

Upon  our  arrival  in  Van  Diemen  's  Land, 
we  obtained  a  grant  of  land  from  the 
British  government  of  1,000  acres.  The 
same  amount  of  land  was  given  to  all  who 
desired  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  and  the 
giving  away  of  so  much  territory  was 
intended  to  encourage  emigration,  which  at 
that  time  (before  the  discovery  of  the  gold 
fields)  needed  all  the  encouragement  it 
could  get.  To  those  who  understood  the 
management  of  a  farm  this  was  a  very 
valuable  privilege,  as  the  soil  was  very 
fertile,  but  my  husband,  being  a  distiller 
and  entirely  unacquainted  with  farming, 
sold  his  grant  for  about  seventy-five  cents 
an  acre.  I  may  add  here,  that  the  same 
grant  was  resold  in  1841  for  $10,000.    Our 

[19] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

grief  at  having  parted  with  it  for  a  mere 
song  was  heartfelt. 

The  following  description  of  the  pecu- 
liarities and  wonders  of  the  country,  given 
after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  may  seem 
incredible,  and  perhaps  will  be  attributed 
to  a  desire  to  exaggerate,  or,  seen  through 
a  mist  of  half  a  century,  seem  to  be  more 
fanciful  than  real ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that 
if  I  were  to  exaggerate  or  give  a  too  highly 
colored  description  I  would  at  once  be  con- 
tradicted, as  it  is  by  no  means  an  unknown 
country. 

During  a  residence  of  thirteen  years  I 
never  saw  what  could  be  called  a  really 
disagreeable  day,  save,  perhaps,  a  few  days 
when  the  heat  was  rather  oppressive,  and 
that  at  Christmas  time.  The  months  of 
November,  December  and  January  were 
the  summer  months,  and  the  severest  winter 
weather  equaled  the  summer  temperature 
of  England,  without  the  excessive  rains  and 
fogs.  The  fruits  were  of  great  variety  and 
very  plentiful:  peaches,  nectarines,  apri- 
cots, pears,  apples,  plums,  mulberries,  rasp- 
berries, in  fact,  all  the  choicest  fruits  of 

[20] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

the  known  world,  save  lemons,  oranges, 
and  fruits  belonging  to  very  hot  climates. 
Indian  corn  did  not  grow  there,  but  was 
brought  from  Sydney,  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  miles.  Diseases  such  as  measles, 
scarlet  fever,  whooping  cough  and  small- 
pox were  utterly  unknown,  and  sickness  of 
any  kind  was  exceedingly  rare,  the  people 
living  to  a  very  old  age.  The  flowers  and 
gardens  were  wonderful.  Many  extensive 
hedges  were  composed  entirely  of  gera- 
niums, which  grew  to  a  height  of  six  feet 
and  had  to  be  clipped  very  frequently. 
Gardens  required  but  little  attention,  and 
of  course,  nearly  every  resident  had  a 
garden  attached  to  his  dwelling.  The 
forest  trees  were  all  evergreens,  which, 
while  presenting  a  beautiful  appearance, 
rendered  them  unfit  for  building,  and  lum- 
ber had  to  be  brought  from  North  America. 
Any  quantity  of  manna  could  be  gathered 
from  certain  trees,  but  this  had  to  be  done 
before  sunrise,  as  the  sun  melted  it  at  once. 
Living  was  very  cheap.  The  price  of  a 
cow  and  calf  was  $6.  Sheep  by  the  hun- 
dred cost  $25,  and  many  settlers  had  as 

[21] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAVEL 

many  as  2,000  in  a  flock.  Tea  was  25  cents 
a  pound,  best  white  sugar  6  cents,  and 
flour  $8  a  barrel.  The  labor  was  nearly 
all  done  by  convicts,  as  it  was  a  great  penal 
colony ;  the  government  allotted  to  any  resi- 
dent as  many  prisoners  as  he  wished  to 
keep,  requiring  that  they  be  allowed  at 
least  10%  pounds  of  prime  beef,  10% 
pounds  of  flour,  14  pound  of  tea,  and  1 
pound  of  sugar  per  week.  Such  was  the 
discipline  maintained  that,  though  the 
prisoners  were  composed  of  the  most  des- 
perate ruffians  in  the  world,  no  scenes 
of  violence  were  witnessed,  and  doors  and 
windows  were  left  open  day  and  night  and 
no  thefts  occurred. 

My  husband  rented  a  distillery  on  the 
Derwent  Eiver,  and  as  labor  cost  him  very 
little,  save  the  expense  of  keeping  the  pris- 
oners, he  for  some  years  did  a  flourishing 
business.  Whisky  was  made  out  of  sugar, 
which  was  very  cheap,  and  mixed  with  malt 
made  an  excellent  article  of  spirits.  The 
aborigines  long  before  our  visit  had  been 
driven  or  hunted  away  from  the  white  set- 
tlements, and  were  generally  shot  on  sight, 

[22] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

as  they  had  a  rather  unpleasant  habit  of 
spearing  white  people  whenever  they  had 
a  chance.  The  government  did  all  in  its 
power  to  colonize  them,  and  tried  every 
plan  to  civilize  them.  They  sent  as  many 
of  them  as  they  could  catch  to  a  place  called 
Maria  Island,  provided  for  them  houses, 
schools,  teachers,  doctors,  clothing  and 
everything  to  make  them  comfortable,  but 
the  result  was  that  the  schools  and  houses 
remained  unoccupied  and  the  natives  died. 
This  may  seem  very  ungrateful  on  the  part 
of  the  natives,  but  it  practically  settled  the 
Indian  question  of  that  day  and  saved  an 
immense  amount  of  trouble.  I  once  saw 
a  shipload  of  them  about  to  start  for 
Maria  Island.  They  were  of  copper  color, 
the  men  very  tall  and  the  women  very 
short,  and  both  men  and  women  extremely 
repulsive  looking. 

Game  was  abundant  on  Van  Diemen's 
Land.  Hunting  the  kangaroo  was  a  favor- 
ite amusement  with  Europeans.  There  is 
no  necessity  for  describing  this  well-known 
animal ;  but  there  were  species  of  rats  and 
mice  known  as  the  kangaroos,  very  much 

[23] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

the  same,  but  on  a  smaller  scale,  that  I 
never  have  seen  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world. 

Colonel  George  Arthur  was  governor 
when  we  arrived.  His  salary  was  £7,000 
per  annum  and  he  was  allowed  an  elegant 
residence,  and  any  number  of  servants,  and 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  was  kept  in 
the  highest  style  of  cultivation  at  govern- 
ment expense  for  his  use.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  excellence,  and  made  it  an  impera- 
tive rule  that  any  officer  guilty  of  immoral 
conduct  should  be  immediately  dismissed 
from  the  service.  He  was  afterwards 
appointed  governor-general  of  Canada,  and 
his  departure  was  greatly  regretted.  Our 
next  governor  was  Sir  John  Franklin,  the 
world-renowned  Arctic  explorer.  He  was 
then  about  sixty  years  of  age,  of  low  stature 
and  quite  stout.  His  wife  was  a  beautiful 
woman,  many  years  his  junior,  being  only 
twenty-six.  She  was  a  lady  of  great  cour- 
age and  determination,  as  later  events  have 
proved.  She  was  the  first  white  woman 
who  ever  traveled  from  Melbourne  to 
Sydney,  and  she  was  also  the  first  woman 

[24] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

to  ascend  Mount  Wellington  (which  was 
an  undertaking  almost  equal  to  the  ascent 
of  Mont  Blanc),  wearing  out  several  pairs 
of  boots  in  the  journey  and  occupying  one 
week  in  doing  it.  Sir  John  inaugurated 
his  new  office  by  giving  a  series  of  balls, 
to  which  my  husband  and  I  had  the 
honor  of  being  invited.  No  possible 
expense  was  spared  in  these  entertain- 
ments, and  I  have  never  since  seen  any- 
thing that  could  approach  them  in  mag- 
nificence. Lady  Franklin  and  I  became 
quite  intimate,  and  I  afterwards  renewed 
my  acquaintance  with  her  when  she  was 
in  New  York  on  some  business  connected 
with  an  expedition  for  the  recovery  of  the 
remains  of  her  husband  at  the  North  Pole. 
I  have  now  a  very  kind  letter  from  her, 
written  previous  to  her  departure  from 
New  York,  in  which  she  speaks  of  happier 
times.  My  husband  became  a  great  friend 
of  Sir  John's,  and  the  recollection  of  the 
kindness  of  this  truly  noble  family  to  us 
is  very  dear.  I  much  regret  to  say  that  the 
friendship  was  abruptly  ended  many  years 
ago  on  account  of  a  grievous  wrong  per- 

[25] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

petrated  by  the  British  government  upon 
my  husband,  Sir  John  being  selected  as  the 
agent  for  its  perpetration. 

Our  business  being  very  lucrative,  we 
had  built  a  new  and  much  larger  distillery 
than  the  one  we  had  leased,  and  invested 
in  it  many  thousand  pounds,  thinking  that 
we  would  be  amply  repaid  for  the  outlay 
by  increased  trade.  We  called  it  the 
Franklin  Distillery,  in  honor  of  Sir  John, 
and  our  prospects  were  very  favorable  for 
acquiring  wealth.  The  attention  of  the 
home  government  was  called  to  the  fact  of 
the  great  amount  of  money  being  made  by 
the  distillers,  and  a  commission  was  imme- 
diately sent  out  from  England  with  full 
power  for  the  suppression  or  regulation  of 
the  traffic. 


[26] 


CHAPTER  IV 

English  Justice  —  Franklin  ^s  Arctic 
Expedition  —  Preparations  for  Its 
Sailing  —  Holman,  the  Blind  Trav- 
eler—  The  First  White  Settlers  of 
Melbourne. 

The  commission  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  settle  the  distillery  affairs,  after 
spending  a  long  time  in  hearing  testimony 
and  examining  witnesses,  agreed  to  pay  the 
distillers  a  fair  amount  on  their  presumed 
annual  earnings.  My  husband's  share  was 
to  be  £1,100  a  year  for  a  term  of  years.  So 
far  so  good;  but  they  took  thirty  months 
before  they  paid  a  dollar,  and  then  by  some 
fraud  that  never  was  fully  explained  away, 
they  reduced  the  amount  £300  per  annum. 
Great  as  was  the  inconvenience  and  loss  we 
were  subjected  to,  owing  to  the  stoppage 
of  our  business,  the  other  distillers  fared 
infinitely  worse,  as  they  never  received  one 
dollar  of  the  amount  awarded  them  and 
to  a  man  became  bankrupt. 

[27] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

Sir  John  Franklin  in  this  matter  acted 
entirely  against  the  interest  of  the  colo- 
nists, and  by  his  influence  and  recommen- 
dations laws  were  passed  making  it  a  penal 
offense  to  make  any  whisky  in  Van  Die- 
men's  Land,  and  visiting  with  heavy  pun- 
ishment any  one  who  should  continue  in 
the  business.  A  certain  Mr.  Gregory,  who 
then  occupied  a  position  as  collector,  be- 
came so  disgusted  with  the  wrongs  per- 
petrated on  the  distillers  that  he  resigned 
a  position  worth  £800  a  year  and  went 
to  England  at  his  own  expense,  to  present 
the  real  state  of  affairs.  Instead  of  having 
his  recommendations  listened  to,  he  was 
publicly  censured  in  the  House  of  Lords 
by  Lord  Stanley,  the  then  colonial  secre- 
tary, and  his  exertions  were  of  no  avail. 

Were  I  to  give  a  description  of  the 
wrongs,  annoyances  and  persecutions  we 
endured  for  a  couple  of  years  in  the  vain 
endeavor  to  obtain  satisfaction  for  the 
infringement  on  our  rights,  I  could  fill  a 
larger  space  than  perhaps  would  be  allowed 
me;  but  the  conclusion  may  be  safely 
arrived  at,  that  it  is  better  to  submit  to  a 

[28] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

wrong  when  inflicted  by  a  government, 
than  to  spend  money  and  time  in  getting 
redress.  It  is  might  against  right,  and 
might  is  always  the  victor. 

Our  return  to  England  in  1841  was 
actuated  solely  by  a  desire  to  obtain 
redress,  as  we  never  would  have  left  such 
a  delightful  country  except  for  imperative 
reasons. 

A  short  time  before  we  left  Hobart  Town 
we  saw  the  ships  Erebus  and  Terror,  in 
which  the  expedition  commanded  by  Sir 
John  Franklin  sailed  for  the  Arctic 
regions.  Sir  John  himself  showed  us  the 
preparations  he  had  made  for  the  voyage, 
and  spoke  enthusiastically  of  his  expected 
discoveries  and  the  benefits  to  be  derived 
from  the  discovery  of  a  northwest  passage. 
He  little  thought  that  he  would  suffer  such 
a  horrible  fate  as  he  did,  and  that  his 
existence  from  the  time  he  reached  the 
Arctic  regions  would  be  shrouded  in  an 
impenetrable  mystery  only  to  be  solved  by 
our  noble  American  explorer,  Dr.  Kane. 

Is  it  not  a  little  singular  that  to  America 
belongs  the  honor  of  finding  Franklin  dead 

[29] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

and  Livingstone  alive,  both  devoting  their 
lives  to  science,  though  at  the  antipodes  ? 

Lieut.  James  Holman,  the  celebrated 
blind  traveler,  was  a  friend  of  ours  in 
Hobart  Town.  He  was  a  most  remarkable 
man  and  wonderfully  gifted.  He  was  a 
Knight  of  Windsor,  whose  duty  it  was, 
with  eight  other  knights  of  the  same  degree, 
to  reside  at  Windsor  Palace  at  the  Queen  ^s 
expense.  He  attained  considerable  celeb- 
rity as  a  traveler  and  author,  and  I  think 
his  works  are  to  be  found  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
library  of  Albany.  In  one  of  his  works 
of  travel  he  mentions  our  names  favorably. 

The  first  white  men  who  attempted  to 
settle  at  Port  Phillip,  or  Melbourne,  as  it 
is  now  called,  were  a  party  of  eight  gentle- 
men, at  the  head  of  whom  was  Mr.  Gilli- 
brand,  the  attorney-general.  The  party 
dined  at  our  house  immediately  previous 
to  their  departure,  and  it  was  a  very  gay 
affair.  They  were  never  heard  of  from  the 
time  they  set  out,  and  it  is  presumed  they 
were  eaten  by  the  savages.  Mrs.  Gilli- 
brand,  the  wife  of  the  unfortunate  leader 
of  the  party,  spent  $5,000  .in  endeavoring 

[30] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

to  get  some  trace  of  them,  and  the  only- 
trace  discovered  was  a  piece  of  one  of  their 
boats  near  the  embers  of  a  fire. 


[31] 


CHAPTER  Y 

Correction — ^Valuable  Servants — Ship- 
wrecked Passengers — Terrible  Tale 
OF  Brutality — Celebrated  Prisoners — 
Visit  op  a  New  Zealand  Chief. 

In  my  last  sketch  I  led  your  readers  to 
understand  that  the  ships  Erebus  and 
Terror,  under  the  command  of  Sir  John 
Franklin,  sailed  from  Hobart  Town  for 
the  Arctic  region.  The  facts  of  the  case 
are,  that  I  saw  the  ships  in  Hobart  Town, 
while  the  expedition  really  started  from 
Greenwich,  London,  May  24,  1845. 

During  a  residence  of  thirteen  years  in 
Tasmania,  we  formed  many  acquaintances, 
became  intimate  with  a  variety  of  people, 
and  met  many  odd  characters.  Hired  labor 
was  very  scarce  there,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  a  vessel  arrived  from  Calcutta,  the 
sailors,  who  were  nearly  all  Mohammedans, 
deserted  the  ship  and  engaged  with  the 
colonists. 

We  had  the  good  fortune  to  engage  one 
of  them,  who  proved  himself  far  superior 

[32] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAVEL 

to  the  ''help"  of  the  present  day.  He  was 
a  good  washer  and  ironer,  an  extremely- 
good  cook,  and  understood  the  management 
of  children.  His  dress  consisted  of  a  long 
blue  cloth  garment,  trimmed  with  scarlet, 
a  turban  encircled  with  a  gold  band,  a 
cummerbund  or  scarf  of  seven  or  eight 
yards  of  mull  muslin  tied  around  his  waist, 
the  ends  hanging  almost  to  his  feet.  He 
had  very  fine  features,  long  black  silken 
hair,  and  his  food  consisted  principally  of 
rice,  his  religion  forbidding  him  to  eat  meat 
or  use  intoxicating  drinks.  When  he  had 
saved  $100  he  left  us,  saying  that  with  that 
sum  in  his  country  he  could  live  without 
work  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  he 
took  ship  for  Calcutta. 

One  of  the  noblest  of  men  and  dearest  of 
friends  was  Captain  William  Moriarity, 
who  was  captain  of  the  port  of  Hobart 
Town,  son  of  Admiral  Moriarity  of  the 
British  Navy.  He  sailed  from  England  to 
this  port  in  the  ship  Coronet,  the  same  ship 
that  brought  us  here.  While  the  vessel  was 
in  the  harbor  of  St.  lago  the  place  was 
visited  by  a  terrible  earthquake  and  tidal 

[33] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

wave.  The  ship  was  destroyed,  the  pas- 
sengers losing  everything  and  barely  escap- 
ing with  their  lives.  They  were  taken  by 
an  American  ship  to  Brazil,  and  from  there 
were  forwarded  to  Hobart  Town,  after  suf- 
fering many  miseries  and  trials.  Captain 
Moriarity  made  it  a  special  point  to  succor 
shipwrecked  persons,  and  I  have  seen  as 
many  as  thirty  sufferers  by  perils  of  the 
sea  enjoying  his  hospitality. 

Lieutenant  Small,  of  the  Sixty-third 
Regiment,  British  Army,  who  brought  out 
letters  of  introduction  to  my  husband,  had 
a  pitiful  story  to  relate.  While  on  the  voy- 
age out  the  ship  anchored  off  an  island 
inhabited  by  savages.  The  captain  gave 
permission  to  many  of  the  passengers  to  go 
ashore,  of  which  they  gladly  availed  them- 
selves. About  twenty-five,  consisting  of 
men,  women  and  children,  proceeded  to  the 
beach  in  the  ship 's  boats.  They  made  some 
delay,  and  a  favorable  breeze  having 
sprung  up,  the  inhuman  captain  sailed 
away,  leaving  them  to  their  fate.  Lieuten- 
ant Small,  whose  son  was  amongst  the  party 
so  deserted,  became  so  exasperated  that  he 

[34] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

drew  his  sword  and  stabbed  the  captain, 
seriously  wounding  him.  He  was  placed 
in  irons  by  the  direction  of  the  captain  for 
the  remainder  of  the  voyage,  and  on  his 
arrival  at  Hobart  Town  was  tried  for 
mutiny  on  the  high  seas.  This  was  an 
offense  punishable  with  death,  but  upon  the 
facts  being  elicited  at  the  trial  the  tables 
were  turned.  Lieutenant  Small  was  ac- 
quitted, the  captain  placed  on  trial,  and 
received  a  sentence  which  doomed  him  to 
two  years'  imprisonment.  The  ship  was 
also  confiscated.  Nothing  was  ever  heard 
of  the  unfortunate  party  left  on  the  island. 
Imagine  the  feelings  of  the  unhappy  people 
on  seeing  the  vessel  containing  loved  mem- 
bers of  their  families  slowly  disappearing 
from  their  tearful  eyes  and  frenzied  vision, 
and  add  to  that  the  thought  of  the  inevi- 
table death  that  awaited  them  either  from 
starvation  or  from  hostile  savages,  who 
possibly  sacrificed  them  to  their  cannibal 
propensities. 

One  celebrated  prisoner  who  was  servant 
to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Barrett,  colonial  secretary, 
was  Sir  Henry  Hayes,  who  was  transported 

[35] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

for  the  attempted  forcible  abduction  of 
Miss  Pike  of  Cork,  a  very  rich  lady,  whose 
money  he  coveted,  and  whom  he  wished  to 
marry.  When  I  saw  him  he  was  dressed  in 
a  yellow  jacket  and  pants,  his  head  shaved 
and  altogether  presenting  a  most  forlorn 
appearance. 

We  once  had  a  prisoner  servant  who  was 
previously  a  banker  in  London,  immensely 
wealthy,  and  had  his  carriage  and  four. 
He  was  transported  for  forgery.  While  he 
was  with  us  he  did  nothing  but  cry  and 
lament  his  unhappy  fate,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  dismiss  him. 

There  was  a  prisoner  named  Solomon 
who  offered  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  to 
the  government  for  the  privilege  of  return- 
ing to  England  for  one  year.  As  this  was 
before  the  system  of  '* ticket  of  leave"  was 
introduced,  his  request  was  not  granted. 

The  richest  man  in  Melbourne,  shortly 
after  gold  being  discovered,  was  John  Mills, 
who  was  a  prisoner  and  worked  with  us  as 
a  maltster.  He  became  free,  went  to  Mel- 
bourne, bought  building  lots  at  $25  each, 
which  he  sold  after  the  gold  was  discovered 

[36] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

for  $500  a  foot  frontage.    He  then  started 
a  brewery  and  made  a  large  fortune. 

My  husband  told  me  one  day  that  he  had 
invited  to  dinner  the  famous  New  Zealand 
chief,  Kanawanga  Tapita.  I  made  great 
preparations  for  entertaining  so  distin- 
guished a  guest,  but  on  seeing  him  I  was 
so  disgusted  with  his  appearance  that  I 
refused  to  allow  him  in  the  house,  and  we 
satisfied  him  by  giving  him  some  raw  meat, 
which  he  ate  ravenously  on  the  back  piazza. 
Those  who  have  not  seen  the  New  Zealand 
natives  cannot  form  an  opinion  of  their 
hideous  appearance.  Chief  as  this  man 
was,  his  dress  was  mainly  composed  of  a 
filthy  mat  carelessly  hanging  from  his 
shoulders.  His  lower  limbs  and  feet  were 
uncovered.  His  face  presented  the  appear- 
ance of  being  corduroyed  from  the  ridge 
and  furrow  process  of  tattooing  having 
been  deeply  gone  into.  His  features  were 
of  a  regular  cast,  but  the  artistic  touches 
of  the  human  remodeler  made  them  repul- 
sive, at  least  to  those  not  accustomed  to 
artificial  development  of  the  facial  outline. 

[37] 


CHAPTER  VI 

Leaving  Australia — Provisions  Neces- 
sary FOR  THE  Voyage  —  Death  of  a 
Faithful  Friend  —  Landing  in  Lon- 
don—  Tw^o  Summers  in  One  Year  — 
The  Great  Famine  Fever  in  Ireland  — 
Emigrate  to  America. 

In  January,  1841,  we  started  from 
Hobart  Town  for  London,  after  spending 
thirteen  years  in  Van  Diemen  's  Land.  We 
sailed  in  the  ship  Mary  Anne,  of  Glasgow, 
commanded  by  Captain  Marshall. 

During  our  stay  in  Tasmania,  God  had 
blessed  us  with  a  large  family ;  at  the  time 
of  our  departure  we  had  a  family  of  eight 
children,  the  youngest  being  a  babe  of  one 
month.  We  numbered,  all  told,  eleven, 
including  a  servant;  and  we  engaged  the 
whole  of  a  cabin,  for  which  we  paid  the 
sum  of  $1,000,  besides  furnishing  our  own 
provisions.  It  may  not  be  uninteresting 
to  give  a  list  of  the  articles  necessary  for 
such  a  long  voyage.    The  following  is  the 

[38] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

list,  as  near  as  I  can  remember:  "We 
bought  eight  barrels  of  flour,  one  hundred 
pounds  of  crackers,  eighteen  barrels  of 
potatoes,  ten  live  sheep,  five  live  pigs,  five 
dozen  chickens,  two  dozen  ducks,  one  dozen 
geese,  ten  turkeys,  two  large  flitches  of 
bacon,  ten  hams,  five  barrels  of  apples,  two 
boxes  of  raisins,  two  boxes  of  currants,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  butter,  fifty 
dozen  of  eggs,  one  hundred  pounds  of  pre- 
serves, five  gallons  of  raspberry  vinegar, 
ten  gallons  of  brandy,  two  hundred  pounds 
of  sugar,  forty  pounds  of  coffee,  twenty-five 
pounds  of  tea,  and  forty  dollars'  worth  of 
Bologna  sausages.  In  addition  to  live 
stock,  we  had  two  goats  to  furnish  us  with 
milk,  and  the  quantity  of  food  for  the 
animals  and  poultry  was  necessarily  very- 
great. 

In  order  to  overcome  the  inconvenience 
of  washing  clothes  on  shipboard,  all  the 
underclothing  had  to  be  taken  with  us 
unmade.  When  used,  the  undergarments 
were  thrown  overboard  and  new  ones 
made,  and  of  course  we  had  to  have  large 
quantities  of  linen  and  muslin  in  the  piece. 

[39] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

An  incident  took  place  on  our  departure 
which  saddened  all  the  children,  and, 
indeed,  cast  a  gloom  over  the  elder  members 
of  the  family.  Our  faithful  Newfoundland 
dog,  the  pet  of  the  children,  vainly- 
endeavored  to  follow  us  on  board  the  ship, 
but  was  put  on  shore  by  the  sailors.  When 
the  ship  sailed  he  jumped  into  the  water 
and  swam  away  out  to  sea  after  us.  We 
watched  him  with  tearful  eyes,  until  the 
faithful  animal  sank  from  exhaustion 
beneath  the  billows. 

The  voyage  was  a  splendid  and  prosper- 
ous one.  We  rounded  Cape  Horn,  which 
is  one  of  the  most  desolate  places  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Near  the  Falkland 
Islands  we  met  a  whaler,  whose  captain 
came  on  board.  He  was  very  anxious  for 
news,  as  he  stated  he  had  been  out 
three  years,  and  was  last  from  Vancouver  ^s 
Island. 

We  next  sighted  two  small  islands,  called 
Corvo  and  Flores.  Mark  Twain,  in  *' Inno- 
cents Abroad, ''  describes  them  and  their 
inhabitants.  These  were  thickly  settled 
and   looked   very  pretty.      The    language 

[40] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

spoken  there  was  Portuguese.  Many  of  the 
people  came  alongside  our  ship  in  boats, 
and  sold  a  large  quantity  of  oranges  and 
other  fruits,  fowls  and  eggs,  to  the  captain 
and  to  us,  we  being  the  only  passengers. 

About  the  first  of  July  we  arrived  off 
Flushing  in  Holland  and  a  few  days  later 
we  sailed  up  the  Thames  to  London.  It 
was  Sunday  when  we  arrived  in  London, 
but  it  was  Saturday  by  our  reckoning,  we 
having  gained  a  day  sailing  round  the 
world  in  an  easterly  direction.  Another 
singular  fact  was  that  it  was  summer  when 
we  arrived  in  England,  and  it  was  summer 
when  we  left  Australia;  so  that  I  enjoyed 
two  summers  in  the  year  1841. 

We  spent  a  month  in  London.  My  hus- 
band was  very  much  occupied  in  trying  to 
get  a  settlement  of  his  claims  against  the 
government,  but  with  very  little  success. 

We  then  started  for  Cork,  where  my 
husband  bought  a  distillery,  and  again 
entered  on  his  old  business.  The  change 
of  climate  was  very  severe  upon  our  chil- 
dren, and  they  all  took  sick,  successively, 
with  measles,  whooping  cough,  scarlet  fever 

[41] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

and  other  diseases  peculiar  to  children,  but 
which  were  utterly  unknown  in  the  place 
we  had  just  come  from.  Six  years  after, 
in  1847,  the  great  typhus  fever  broke  out 
in  Ireland,  and  my  husband,  who  was  inter- 
ested in  bread  distribution  and  other  socie- 
ties for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  contracted 
the  disease  and  forfeited  his  life  in  trying 
to  relieve  the  miseries  of  others.  Eighteen 
gentlemen,  our  near  neighbors,  died  of  the 
same  disease,  and  many  families  in  Cork 
were  bereft  of  their  sole  support  in  conse- 
quence of  having  contracted  the  fever.  It 
is  a  matter  of  history,  and  therefore  needs 
no  description  from  my  pen;  but  the  ter- 
rible destitution  and  suffering  of  the  poorer 
class  of  the  people  of  Ireland  at  that  time 
is  without  parallel.  The  misery,  however, 
was  alleviated  in  a  great  measure  by  the 
generosity  of  the  American  people,  who 
sent  large  quantities  of  com  and  flour  for 
the  relief  of  the  destitute. 

I  continued  the  business  myself  until 
1854,  when,  becoming  convinced  that  my 
children  would  have  a  better  opportunity 
of  improving  their  prospects  by  going  to 

[42] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

the  United  States,  and  as  my  two  eldest 
sons  were  already  there,  I  disposed  of  my 
business  and  started  for  America. 

[The  above  chapters  have  dealt  solely 
with  a  description  of  my  mother's  long 
voyage  to  Australia  and  return,  a  matter 
of  36,000  miles.  According  to  her  descrip- 
tion of  Hobart  Town,  it  must  have  been  a 
delightful  place  in  which  to  live.  She  lived 
there  with  her  devoted  husband  for  thir- 
teen years,  and  became  the  mother  of  nine 
children.  Eight  of  these  children  came 
back  with  her,  one  died  (an  infant),  and 
her  tenth  child  was  born  in  Cork,  being  the 
only  Irishman  of  the  family. 

You  may  have  noticed  the  very  pathetic 
incident  related  of  the  faithful  Newfound- 
land dog  swimming  after  the  vessel  until 
he  sank  beneath  the  waves.  This  always 
seemed  to  us  children  a  particularly  sad 
incident,  and  we  criticised  (as  much  as  we 
dared)  our  parents'  conduct  in  not  insist- 
ing on  bringing  the  poor  fellow  along. 

The  continuation  of  the  story  involves 
the  account  of  a  shipwreck  which  to  a  great 

[43] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

extent  is  very  similar  to  the  loss  of  the 
Titanic.  The  location  was  nearly  the  same, 
off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland.  The  ship, 
on  her  first  trip,  was  lost,  but  fortunately 
there  was  no  loss  of  life  as  just  before 
sinking  the  boat  was  run  on  the  rocks. 
However,  the  lifeboats  were  all  in  use,  the 
women  and  children  taken  off  first,  but 
there  was  almost  as  much  terror  and  fright 
experienced  as  there  was  on  the  Titanic] 


[44] 


CHAPTER  YII 

Shipwrecked — Narrow  Escape  of  All  on 
Board — How  They  Were  Saved. 

On  the  31st  day  of  August,  1854,  we  left 
Liverpool  in  the  steamship  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, of  the  Inman  line,  commanded  by 
Capt.  Eobert  Leitch.  We  had  been  de- 
layed for  two  weeks  in  Liverpool,  owing 
to  an  accident  happening  to  the  steamer 
on  her  trial  trip  in  the  Clyde.  It  was  to  be 
her  first  trip,  and  she  was  one  of  the  finest 
vessels  ever  built  by  the  Inman  line,  who 
have  so  many  elegant  steamships.  The  day 
of  departure  was  a  beautiful  one,  and  as 
we  stood  on  the  deck  during  the  passage 
down  the  Mersey,  we  were  in  high  spirits. 
Everything  augured  a  prosperous  and 
speedy  voyage,  the  passengers  were  all 
delighted,  and  as  the  weather  was  fine  and 
the  sea  smooth,  but  little  seasickness  was 
experienced. 

After  passing  the  coast  of  Ireland  rough 
weather  was  experienced,  and  the  number 

[45] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

of  promenaders  on  deck,  and  eaters  at  the 
table,  was  very  sensibly  diminished.  The 
voyage  was  without  incident  until  the  7th 
of  September.  We  had  neared  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland,  and,  as  usual  in  that 
locality,  were  in  a  dense  fog.  About  twelve 
o'clock  we  were  awakened  by  a  terrible 
crash,  and  some  of  us  were  thrown  from 
our  berths.  We  all  rushed  upstairs  as  fast 
as  possible,  only  to  find  the  saloon  filled 
with  terrified  passengers  of  both  sexes,  who 
in  their  anxiety  to  learn  the  cause  of  the 
accident,  had  hurried  up  without  losing 
any  time  in  changing  their  clothes,  suited 
only  to  the  privacy  of  their  staterooms. 
The  scene  was  a  terrible  one,  and  our  con- 
sternation was  added  to  by  the  report  that 
the  ship  was  sinking.  Mothers  were  shriek- 
ing for  their  children,  husbands  looking  for 
members  of  their  family,  all  praying 
fervently  and  bidding  eternal  adieus. 

One  of  the  officers,  at  this  juncture, 
calmed  us  by  saying  that  there  was  no 
danger,  and  informed  us  that  the  ship  had 
struck  on  a  rock  supposed  to  be  Cape  Race, 
and  had  backed  off  without  sustaining  any 

[46] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

serious  damage.  Upon  this  we  returned  to 
our  rooms  and  dressed  ourselves,  as  sleep 
was  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Upon 
reassembling  on  the  deck  we  learned  the 
full  extent  of  the  disaster.  The  ship  was 
sinking,  and  again  the  prayers,  the  groans, 
the  adieus,  were  repeated  with  renewed 
energy.  At  this  time,  seeing  the  critical 
state  of  affairs.  Captain  Leitch  had  the  ship 
headed  towards  the  land,  and  ordered  the 
boats  to  be  got  ready.  In  an  instant  there 
was  a  rush  on  the  part  of  the  steerage  pas- 
sengers for  the  boats,  which  were  filled 
by  men  even  while  they  hung  at  the  davits. 
The  officers  and  sailors,  under  command 
of  the  captain,  at  once  cleared  the  boats 
by  striking  without  mercy  the  cowardly 
wretches  who  had  sought  to  save  them- 
selves alone,  and  armed  men  were  placed 
in  sufficient  numbers  around  each  boat  to 
prevent  any  one  getting  possession.  News 
was  now  brought  up  that  the  fires  were  out, 
and  the  situation  was  becoming  precarious. 
Before  the  engines  had  ceased  to  work  the 
ship  grounded  with  great  force  upon  some 
sunken  rocks,  and  remained  as  firmly  on 

[47] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

them  as  if  she  was  on  stocks.  It  was  fortu- 
nate the  sea  was  smooth  or  else  she  would 
have  gone  to  pieces. 

The  captain  ordered  all  the  women  and 
children  into  the  boats,  and  after  rowing 
about  half  a  mile  we  were  landed  on  the 
shore  in  a  place  called  Chance  Cove.  In 
due  time  the  male  passengers  were  brought 
off,  and  at  early  dawn  the  passengers, 
about  seven  hundred,  were  all  on  shore. 
We  could  see  the  elegant  steamer  stranded 
on  the  rocks,  looking  as  if  she  were  about 
to  be  launched;  but  her  journeyings 
had  ceased  forever,  and  she  never  left  her 
cradle  on  the  rocks  until  the  storms  of 
successive  winters  had  broken  her  to 
fragments. 

At  the  time  of  the  shipwreck  the  early 
operations  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Com- 
pany were  taking  place,  and  a  small 
steamer  belonging  to  the  company  was 
seen  about  twelve  o'clock.  Signals  of  dis- 
tress were  hoisted  and  guns  fired,  and  she 
finally  bore  down  on  us  and  took  as  many 
passengers  as  she  could  accommodate 
(about  seventy-five)    to  St.  John's,  New- 

[48] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

foundland.  It  being  impossible  to  take 
passage  in  her,  we  were  forced  to  remain 
in  Chance  Cove,  and  provisions  were 
brought  from  the  ship  and  tents  made  out 
of  the  sails,  and  we  succeeded  in  making 
ourselves  comparatively  comfortable.  A 
fleet  of  wreckers  surrounded  the  ship,  and 
all  the  male  passengers  were  armed  to  repel 
attack.  For  several  nights  we  were  much 
alarmed  at  the  report  of  firearms,  and 
learned  each  morning  that  skirmishes  were 
going  on  with  these  pirates,  and  it  needed 
all  possible  precautions  to  keep  them  at 
bay. 

After  a  stay  of  four  or  five  days  we  were 
taken  off  by  small  steamers  chartered  for 
the  purpose  and  conveyed  to  St.  John's. 
We  remained  a  month  here,  and  as  we  had 
the  good  fortune  to  meet  many  kind  rela- 
tions and  friends  who  dwelt  there,  our  time 
was  passed  very  agreeably.  While  we  were 
in  St.  John's  a  small  French  propeller 
came  in  one  Sunday  morning  very  much 
disabled.  She  was  named  the  Vesta,  and 
reported  that  she  had  struck  a  large 
steamer  and,  being  disabled,  had  put  into 

[49] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAVEL 

St.  John's.  Her  foremast  was  gone  and 
her  bow  stove  in.  On  board  her  they  did 
not  know  the  extent  of  the  damage  the 
other  steamer  had  sustained,  but  we  soon 
learned  that  it  was  the  Arctic  of  the  Collins 
line  that  had  been  run  into,  and  that  out 
of  560  passengers  but  thirty  were  saved, 
Mr.  Collins  (the  owner  of  the  line)  and 
family  being  amongst  the  lost.  The  sur- 
vivors came  in  next  day  in  a  lifeboat,  and 
the  tale  they  told  was  indeed  a  sad  one. 
One  of  them,  the  purser  of  the  Arctic, 
became  insane  from  the  horrors  and  suffer- 
ings he  had  endured,  and  had  to  be  kept  in 
close  confinement. 

After  remaining  a  month  in  St.  John's, 
we  sailed  for  Philadelphia  in  the  Osprey, 
chartered  by  the  Inman  line  at  an  expense 
of  $500  a  day,  and  our  first  landing  in 
America  was  at  Martha's  Vineyard,  where 
we  put  in  for  a  few  hours.  We  were  struck 
with  the  quaintness  and  beauty  of  the 
place  and  the  civility  of  the  inhabitants. 
On  the  21st  of  October  we  landed  at 
Philadelphia  and  our  trials  were  over. 

I  deem  it  proper  to  say  at  this  time 

[50] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAYEL 

that  the  conduct  of  the  Inman  Company 
deserved  unqualified  admiration. 

It  is  a  common  remark  that  corporations 
have  no  souls,  but  this  company  is  an 
admirable  exception.  It  treated  all  the 
passengers  with  the  utmost  courtesy,  and 
endeavored  in  every  way  to  compensate 
them  for  the  discomforts  and  losses  by  the 
accident,  paid  for  every  pound  of  baggage 
lost,  and  indeed  paid  everything  with  a 
lavishness  and  generosity  rare  to  see. 

We  left  Philadelphia  soon  after  for 
Ithaca,  Tompkins  County,  New  York  State, 
where  we  resided  two  years  and  then  left 
for  Albany,  arriving  on  the  day  James 
Buchanan  was  elected. 

I  have  now  come  to  the  conclusion  of  my 
description  of  travels  and  incidents  of  a 
long  life.  Many  incidents  have  occurred 
which,  while  deeply  affecting  and  serious 
in  their  nature,  were  too  sacred  for  publi- 
cation. If  I  have  interested  any  of  my 
readers,  I  am  well  repaid,  and  trust  that 
the  time  I  have  occupied  has  not  been 
considered  as  wasted. 

[51] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

I  am  sorry  to  inform  my  readers  that  I 
am  now  totally  blind;  seeing  neither  sun 
nor  moon  nor  stars,  but  total  darkness  in 
the  midst  of  noon. 

[The  ending  of  this  story  is  very 
pathetic.  Cataracts  had  formed  on  my 
mother's  eyes  and  for  years  before  her 
death  she  was  unable  to  see.  Notwith- 
standing this  affliction,  she  was  active,  and 
continued  to  be  interested  in  charitable 
work.  She  was  passionately  fond  of  music 
and  a  little  girl  attendant  had  a  long  list 
of  her  pieces  which  she  would  read  off  and 
the  dear  old  lady  would  play  from  mem- 
ory. She  never  had  an  illness,  was  a  strong 
and  vigorous  woman,  with  great  mentality 
and  force  of  character. 

The  following  obituary  notice,  published 
by  the  Sunday  Press  in  1887,  is  an  evi- 
dence that  her  good  qualities  were  appre- 
ciated and  her  loss  deplored.  In  simple 
words  it  gives  an  idea  of  the  characteristics 
of  a  remarkable  woman.  She  was  abso- 
lutely   unselfish,    generous    to    a    fault, 

[52] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAVEL 

devoted  to  her  family  and  as  good  a  mother 
as  she  had  been  a  loving  wife : 

OBITUARY. 

Maria  Hackett. 

One  of  our  best-known  and  most  highly- 
esteemed  old  ladies  passed  away  yesterday 
to  the  final  reward  of  a  life  filled  with  good 
deeds  and  incessant  efforts  in  behalf  of 
her  fellow  creatures.  Mrs.  Hackett  had 
reached  the  unusual  age  of  82  years  and 
had  entered  upon  the  83d  with  the  same 
ambition  and  hopefulness  of  accomplishing 
more  good,  that  characterized  her  entire 
life.  She  had,  for  many  years  of  late, 
evinced  a  most  remarkable  activity,  excit- 
ing the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  her.  She  was  pos- 
sessed of  a  vast  fund  of  reminiscences  and 
several  years  since  wrote  for  the  Sunday 
Press  a  very  interesting  series  of  articles  on 
life  in  Australia,  in  which  country  she 
passed  a  portion  of  her  life.  She  was 
warmly  devoted  to  her  religion  and  prac- 
ticed its  precepts  most  rigidly.  It  was  a 
source  of  delightful  pleasure  to  secure  her 
company  and  listen  to  her  recitals  of  expe- 
riences during  her  long  and  eventful  life. 

[53] 


SKETCHES  OF  TEAYEL 

Mrs.  Hackett  leaves  two  sons,  Messrs. 
Edward  F.  and  Theodore  M.,  to  mourn  her 
loss,  who  will  receive  the  sympathy  of  a 
widely  extended  circle  of  friends.] 


[54] 


BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  THE  MILITARY 
CAREER  OF 

EDWARD  F.  HACKETT,  JR. 

LIEUTENANT  COMPANY  A,  42nd  REGIMENT 
NEW  YORK  STATE  VOLUNTEERS 


LIEUTENANT  EDWARD  F.  HACKETT,  Jr. 


BRIEF    SKETCH    OF    THE    MILITARY 
CAREER  OF  EDWARD  F.  HACKETT,  JR. 


In  publishing  a  family  story  one  may  be 
pardoned  for  giving  prominence  to  the 
youngest  member  of  the  family,  who  not 
only  had  a  record  as  a  traveler  but  who 
also  distinguished  himself  in  the  Spanish- 
American  War. 

Early  in  May,  1898,  Edward  F.  Hackett, 
Jr.,  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Tenth  Bat- 
talion, as  a  private.  Shortly  afterward  the 
regiment  left  Albany  for  Camp  Black. 
Many  will  remember  the  departure  of  the 
regiment  for  the  front:  the  marching 
from  the  Armory  down  Washington  Ave- 
nue to  the  depot;  the  embarking  of  the 
troops,  the  cheering,  the  display  of  flags 
and  bunting;  the  band  playing  patriotic 
airs;  the  shouts  and  good-byes  of  the  on- 
lookers and  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  the 
crowd  that  lined  the  streets.  Shortly 
afterwards  came  news  of  Camp  Black ;  the 
suffering  and  lack  of  comfort  experienced; 
the  insufficiency  of  shelter;  the  sleeping  on 

[57] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

wet  ground ;  everything  to  show  the  incom- 
petency of  the  powers  that  be.  Then  came 
word  that  the  regiment  had  been  ordered  to 
Honolulu  and  long  descriptions  followed  of 
the  experiences  there  in  that  delightful 
climate.  In  November,  1898,  the  First 
Eegiment  was  ordered  home  and  about 
Christmas  of  that  year  a  grand  welcome 
was  given  by  Albanians  to  the  soldiers  who, 
although  they  had  not  met  the  enemy  or 
even  had  a  skirmish  with  them,  had  shown 
their  readiness  to  fight  for  their  country. 
In  February,  1899,  Private  Hackett  was 
honorably  discharged,  and  soon  obtained  a 
commission  as  Second  Lieutenant  in  the 
Twelfth  New  York.  After  a  short  stay  in 
Cuba  the  regiment  was  mustered  out  of 
service,  arriving  in  New  York,  March  27, 
1899. 

Shortly  after  the  Lieutenant  was  again 
commissioned  in  the  Forty-second  New 
York  Volunteers  with  headquarters  at  Fort 
Niagara  and  after  a  brief  time  spent  in 
recruiting  service  he  started  for  the  Philip- 
pines. For  about  eighteen  months  he 
served  gallantly,  enduring  much  hardship 

[58] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

and  privation  and  participating  in  several 
engagements.  Of  one  very  severe  fight  at 
Pinauran  the  following  comment  which  is 
taken  from  The  Albany  Journal,  February 
14,  1901,  speaks  for  itself : 

YOUNG  ALBANY  OFFICER 
HONORED 

Lieutenant   Edward   F.    Hackett 

Furnished  with   Official 

Report  of  Orders 

COMMENDING  HIS  ACTION 

Participated  with  His  Company  in  an  Assault 
Upon  an  Almost  Impregnable  Position 

A  young  Albany  soldier  in  the  army  in  the 
Philippines  seems  to  be  covering  himself  with 
glory.  Lieutenant  E.  F.  Hackett,  Jr.,  of  the 
Forty-second  Eegiment,  U.  S.  V.,  has  received 
recognition  which  many  officers  who  served  during 
the  Civil  War  and  on  the  plains  were  unable  to 
attain.  The  following  report  of  an  engagement  in 
northern  Luzon,  November  22,  1900,  explains  in 
terse  military  manner  the  battle  in  which  Lieuten- 
ant Hackett  bore  himself  in  most  gallant  manner: 

[59] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

Headquarters  Sixth  District,  Department  of 
Northern  Luzon,  El  Deposito,  P.  I., 

December  21,  1900. 

Major  E.  C.  Gary,  Forty-second  U.  S.  Volunteers: 
Sir: 

The  District  Commander  directs  me  to  express 
his  appreciation  of  the  services  rendered  by  your 
command,  the  main  column  of  the  expeditionary 
forces,  under  Colonel  J.  Milton  Thompson,  Forty- 
second  Infantry,  U.  S.  Volunteers,  during  the  expe- 
dition against  and  engagement  with  the  insurgent 
forces  under  Licerio  Geronimo,  at  Pinauran,  the 
insurgent  stronghold  northeast  of  Montalbon,  P.  I., 
November  22,  1900,  resulting  in  the  destruction  of 
the  enemy  ^s  quarters,  supplies,  etc.  The  prompt- 
ness with  which  your  two  leading  companies  (A 
and  I,  Forty-second  Infantry)  scaled  the  almost 
vertical  walls  of  the  canon  of  the  river  Anginan, 
which  had  they  been  bare  of  vegetation  would  have 
been  difficult  enough,  but  which,  on  account  of  the 
dense  growth  of  cane,  looked  as  if  they  were  insur- 
mountable obstacles,  is  worthy  of  comment. 

While  the  country  over  which  the  column  oper- 
ated, though  it  presented  extremely  great  diffi- 
culties, offered  easy  traveling  compared  with  that 
over  which  the  other  columns  marched,  yet  the 
fact  that  the  main  column  engaged  the  enemy  to  a 
greater  extent,  made  up  the  difference. 

Very  respectfully, 

Joseph  E.  McAndrews, 
Forty-second  Infantry,  U.  S.  Volunteers, 
First  Lieutenant  and  Battalion  Adjutant,  Acting 
Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

[60] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

Headquarters  Sixth  District,  Department  of 
Northern  Luzon,  El  Deposito,  P.  I., 

December  21,  1900. 

Official  copy  respectfully  furnished  Second  Lieu- 
tenant E.  F.  Hackett,  Jr.,  Forty-second  Infantry, 
U.  S.  Volunteers,  who  commanded  Company  A, 
Forty-second  Infantry,  U.  S.  Volunteers,  which  was 
part  of  the  main  column  in  the  above  mentioned 
expedition  and  engagement. 

By  order  of  the  Colonel. 

Joseph  E.  McAndrews, 

First  Lieutenant  and  Battalion  Adjutant,  Forty- 
second  U.  S.  Volunteers,  Acting  Assistant 
Adjutant  General. 

Mr.  Hackett,  who  now  holds  a  First  Lieutenant  ^s 
commission,  commanded  his  company  on  this  occa- 
sion. The  American  column  consisted  of  1,400 
men.  Against  them  3,000  Filipinos  were  arrayed 
in  a  stronghold  which  seemed  to  be  impregnable. 
To  reach  them  it  was  necessary  to  scale  the  side 
of  a  canon,  which,  as  the  official  report  discloses, 
was  almost  vertical.  Company  A  of  the  Forty- 
second,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Hackett,  seems 
to  have  been  foremost  in  the  assault,  and  the  fact 
that  Colonel  Thompson  directed  that  an  official 
copy  of  the  report  of  the  affair  should  be  furnished 
him,  proves  that  he  must  have  acquitted  himself 
with  singular  gallantry.  Five  Americans  were 
killed.  The  Filipinos'  loss  is  not  stated,  but  they 
were  routed  and  all  their  supplies  in  the  strong- 
hold captured. 

[61] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

Lieutenant  Hackett  is  a  son  of  E.  F.  Hackett. 
He  was  a  member  of  Company  A  of  the  Tenth 
Battalion,  and  went  with  the  First  "New  York 
Eegiment  to  Honolulu.  On  the  return  of  the  First 
he  applied  for  a  commission  for  service  in  Cuba, 
and  obtained  one  in  the  Twelfth  New  York.  On 
his  arrival  in  Cuba  he  was  made  Post-Adjutant  of 
the  regiment,  but  in  a  short  time  the  Twelfth  was 
ordered  home.  Then  he  secured  a  commission  in 
the  Forty-second,  where  he  has  seen  hard  service. 
He  has  been  down  with  fever  and  suffered  all  the 
hardships  of  the  campaign  in  northern  Luzon.  The 
fact  that  he  has  been  mentioned  in  the  way  above 
indicated  will  be  a  source  of  pride  to  his  many 
friends  hereabouts,  for  his  action  reflects  credit 
on  the  city  of  his  birth. 

On  January  2,  1901,  he  was  promoted  to 
First  Lieutenant.  The  Forty-second  Eegi- 
ment returned  to  San  Francisco,  June  21, 
1901,  and  was  mustered  out  of  service. 

After  his  return  from  the  Philippines  he 
never  fully  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
his  hardships  and  fever  he  suffered  from 
while  on  duty.  His  health  was  greatly 
impaired  and  while  he  struggled  manfully 
to  engage  in  business  and  was  a  short  time 
previous  to  his  death  in  very  lucrative 
employment   in   New   York   City   he   was 

[62] 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 

obliged  to  give  up  his  position.  He  was 
born  in  Albany  in  1877  and  attended  the 
boys'  academy,  and  he  died  in  Albany  in 
June,  1907,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his 
age. 

Previous  to  his  enlistment  in  the  army 
in  1897  he  made  a  voyage  around  South 
America,  going  as  far  north  as  Eucador  on 
the  west  coast.  Counting  his  trip  to  Hono- 
lulu and  return  and  his  voyage  to  the 
Philippines,  he  had  a  record  of  travel  of 
nearly  one  hundred  thousand  miles.  He 
was  popular  among  his  associates  and  was 
of  an  extremely  happy  disposition. 

This  brief  sketch  of  Maria  Hackett's 
grandson  is  not,  it  would  seem,  improperly 
inserted  in  this  little  book,  and  if  one  takes 
pride  in  recounting  the  patriotism  and 
bravery  shown,  it  will  be  remembered  that 
it  was  for  his  country  that  Edward  F. 
Hackett,  Jr.,  virtually  gave  up  his  life. 


[63] 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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''"^K  , 

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